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Ceramic Arts Network is looking for two new forum moderators for the Clay and Glaze Chemistry and Equipment Use and Repair sections of the Ceramic Arts Network Community Forum. We are looking for somebody who is an active participant (i.e. somebody who participates on a daily basis, or near daily) on the forum. Moderators must be willing to monitor the forum on a daily basis to remove spam, make sure members are adhering to the Forum Terms of Use, and make sure posts are in the appropriate categories. In addition to moderating their primary sections, Moderators must work as a team with other moderators to monitor the areas of the forum that do not have dedicated moderators (Educational Approaches and Resources, Aesthetic Approaches and Philosophy, etc.). Moderators must have a solid understanding of the area of the forum they are going to moderate (i.e. the Clay and Glaze Chemistry moderator must be somebody who mixes, tests, and has a decent understanding of materials). Moderators must be diplomatic communicators, be receptive to others’ ideas, and be able to see things from multiple perspectives. This is a volunteer position that comes with an honorary annual ICAN Gold membership. If you are interested, please send an email outlining your experience and qualifications to jharnetty@ceramics.org.

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Hi!! I have just finished a sculpture of a baby using smooth red clay.
This is my third clay sculpture, but first without a teacher to guide me. With my previous sculptures, it was easier to remove the armatures.. there were less detailed areas which made it less traumatic to cut open/join back together. I was also far less particular about my sculptures then as can be seen by the fact I removed the armatures far too early.
Is it okay for me to leave the paper inside when I fire it? Also, how slowly should I dry it to make sure fingers, toes and ears don't crack?
Any other advice?
Thanks in advance

A forum friend and I have been discussing the cause/s of s cracks. I would like to poll the forum for some additional information.
1 do you experience this problem more with stoneware or porcelain?
2. If stoneware, is the body white, tan, grey, or dark?
3. If porcelain, do you know if sodium was used as the primary flux?
4. Does it occur more during hot weather?
5. Have you noticed any differences in outcome if the base is thick or thin?
Feel free to share thoughts, opinions, or other information. Thanks for the input.
Tom

Hi all,
I've had an order for some slab platters for Christmas. I know last minute shopping! So I've slabbed four already, I've been told that porcelain slabs need to dry slowly. Problem being is we're in mid summer with temps of +30 deg C, I have no storage room since I work outside. Can anyone confirm this info? If so how long should I keep them wrapped in plastic? Bearing in mind that every time I work on them they dry even more.
Thanks
Andread

When we moved, I lost access to a community studio. I just purchased a kiln of my own but I don't have the luxury of a room to myself for a studio.
My question is in regards to safety. I've been reading the safety forums and now I'm so scared to do anything and am disheartened as I probably will never have a room solely for pottery. I want to know if I can use hardiboard and work with my wet clay at my kitchen table and then dry my pieces in my laundry room that I can mop? Of course when I leave my table, I would use a damp rag and mop there as well but will this pose a health risk to me and my family?
I miss having a studio I could go to and now I'm afraid I'll never work with clay again? Any help is appreciated!

Hey Everyone,
I have moved and do not have a normal "studio" space. The space that I've been using is actually a converted garage that also has my laundry dryer in the same room. Unfortunately I am running into some major issues in the drying process in my greenware stage. I live in a cold climate so during some points in the year my "studio" gets very cold and then when my dryer is running, it gets fairly warm in that space. I've tried drying in other rooms but I also have kids and, well, things haven't survived to reach bisque firing. Does anyone know if a damp box would help in this situation in controlling the immediate environment a little? If so, has anyone used a plastic bin or tote with a lid as a cheaper alternative to a damp box as I'm not prepared to spend lots of cash at the moment on an official dampbox.
If any of you have a similar situation and have any ideas or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it!

Alright, I'll get straight to the point. I have a wheel, and would love to start creating. However, the kiln i bought will not be available/functioning for 2 weeks-2 months (need to upgrade my electrical box). How long can my greenware sit before it NEEDS to be fired? Is it OK for pieces to dry for that long? I can't imaging why not, but I would hate to put in a bunch of hours/make something I really like, only to have to scrap it.
Side note: this will be my first time firing my own pieces, so I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the future!
Thanks!

So, I am making these large bowls that have holes drilled in the bottom, inside the foot ring. The purpose is to drain liquid from fruit, salad, veggies etc. I have been using an electric drill to make said holes.
The problem is, that in the drying, because there are holes across the bottom, there is a weakness and some of them crack. No matter how slowly I dry these bowls, some of them crack.
Any thoughts, solutions?
TJR.

I don't even remember when someone advised me that flipping bowls so that the rim is on a flat surface, while drying, would reduce the amount of warping...but it is a practice that I still follow. I keep seeing studio images with drying shelves full of bowls, and the bowls are resting on their feet with the rims upright.
OK...so, here are my questions:
Is there any validity to the claim that drying bowls with the rim down reduces warping? Is there some point in the drying process where flipping bowls over evens-out the drying? Is the practice/preference more dependent on clay choice (i.e. porcelain vs stoneware) and/or size of the bowl? If you talk to your bowls, what do they say is their preferred drying position (its OK if you don't speak bowl) .
-Paul

I've been trying for months now to make a successful octopus that the tentacles won't break on! I'm starting to think I can't! I'm make the tentacles with clay coils and add details. However, when it starts to dry, the tentacles start to raise up. They don't break...but me trying to readjust them or press them back down breaks them. I feel like an octopus is going to look DUMB with his legs in the air!! So here's what I'm doing right now: I've got his body uncovered (so it will dry out...the tentacles are thinner and always dry out fast) and his legs have been misted with water and have a plastic bag draped across them. For weight to counter the rising tentacles, I've laid a cotton t-shirt on top of that. I keep checking and misting...but this seems like a never ending cycle. How do I keep these legs from dring and raising up?!?!

Hi everyone! I'm new here, and new to ceramics.
I will be hand building miniatures. My main question right now is, how can you tell when the clay pieces are dry? I've searched online, and the only answer I have found is that they are dry when they no longer feel cold when touched against your face/wrist.
I have created some pieces to test my clay samples (various types of stoneware and porcelain clay). After 3 weeks, they still feel fairly cold on my face. They are about 1/2" thick, and I realize that drying will take longer with this thickness. But, it seems like they have felt the same (against my face/wrist) for the last 3 days now, and I'm wondering if dry clay still feels slightly cold? Is there another method to check when they are dry enough for the bisque firing?
Thanks for any advice!
Melissa